Hollywood has two reasons to celebrate today, with one of them being the fact that it’s Oscar Sunday. However, the more important reason is no doubt the fact that after a sluggish start to the year, the box office is finally picking up, with the top two movies this weekend overperforming significantly. Even the most optimistic box office forecasters didn’t see Kung Fu Panda 4 opening north of $50 million (we had it pegged at $48 million), but the movie ended up rallying to a massive $58 million weekend. While that’s not much compared to the last Jack Black animated film (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), it’s worth noting that the Kung Fu Panda franchise was widely thought to have run out of gas some time ago. The last two Kung Fu Panda movies only made $47 and $41 million on their opening weekends, thus giving the franchise its biggest start since the first movie in 2008, which opened with $60.2 million. 

However, this weekend’s big news is Dune: Part Two’s amazing hold, with it posting the smallest second-weekend decline since this summer’s Barbenheimer phenomenon. Yesterday, the trades figured the film would make about $44 million this weekend, but in the end, just like last week, the movie had a stronger-than-expected Saturday. It now stands at $46 million for the second weekend, posting a 44% week-to-week decline, which is amazing for a tentpole blockbuster. Typically, if a movie like this is well-reviewed or liked, it would drop in the 50’s, while a 60-ish decline is the norm. That “A” CinemaScore rating is working wonders, with word-of-mouth on this one making a $300 million domestic finish possible. 

Meanwhile, Blumhouse’s Imaginary exceeded expectations, making $10 million for the weekend. That’s not a bad finish, given the poor reviews, although it will likely sink like a stone next weekend. In fourth place is Angel Studios’ Cabrini, which had a much better weekend than expected, with a north of $7.5 million opening. While that’s a far cry from director Alejandro Monteverde’s last film, Sound of Freedom, Cabrini didn’t have the same mainstream hook that movie did. Given that this is a period piece about the first American citizen canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church, this is a pretty solid opening. It should play well over the upcoming Easter holiday. 

Bob Marley: One Love, which dominated the box office throughout February, made just over $4 million this weekend, with an $89 million domestic total. A $100 million finish looks like it might be in the cards for this well-liked biopic. On the other hand, the faith-based Ordinary Angels struggled to find an audience, only making $2 million for the weekend, with a $16 million domestic total. That’s low for a Christian movie with two solid stars, Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson. 

However, of all the movies on the list, the biggest cautionary tale continues to be Sony’s Marvel flick, Madame Web, which only made $1.125 million this weekend and only has a $42 million domestic total so far. There’s no way this one manages a finish of over $45 million. This movie is so bad that even its star, Dakota Johnson, says so.

Illumination’s Migration is on the lower end of the chart, which is wrapping up its run with a $1.1 million weekend for a $125 million domestic total, which is low for this animated studio. The 9th and 10th spots were taken by specialty releases. The Chinese comedy YOLO opened in 9th place with $840,000, while the MET Opera special run of La Forza del Destino made $768,000 in the 10th spot.

Next weekend seems like it’ll be a quiet one, with the only major releases being the Kristen Stewart pulp thriller Love Lies Bleeding and the Mark Wahlberg movie Arthur the King, which has gotten a pretty mild advertising campaign despite the fact it not only stars Wahlberg but also Simu Liu and a lovable dog. Go figure. It looks possible that Dune: Part Two could even retake the top spot if Kung Fu Panda 4 has a modest hold.

Did you go see anything this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

The post Weekend Box Office: Dune 2 has the best 2nd weekend hold since Barbenheimer appeared first on JoBlo.

Hollywood has two reasons to celebrate today, with one of them being the fact that it’s Oscar Sunday. However, the more important reason is no doubt the fact that after a sluggish start to the year, the box office is finally picking up, with the top two movies this weekend overperforming significantly. Even the most optimistic box office forecasters didn’t see Kung Fu Panda 4 opening north of $50 million (we had it pegged at $48 million), but the movie ended up rallying to a massive $58 million weekend. While that’s not much compared to the last Jack Black animated film (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), it’s worth noting that the Kung Fu Panda franchise was widely thought to have run out of gas some time ago. The last two Kung Fu Panda movies only made $47 and $41 million on their opening weekends, thus giving the franchise its biggest start since the first movie in 2008, which opened with $60.2 million. 

However, this weekend’s big news is Dune: Part Two’s amazing hold, with it posting the smallest second-weekend decline since this summer’s Barbenheimer phenomenon. Yesterday, the trades figured the film would make about $44 million this weekend, but in the end, just like last week, the movie had a stronger-than-expected Saturday. It now stands at $46 million for the second weekend, posting a 44% week-to-week decline, which is amazing for a tentpole blockbuster. Typically, if a movie like this is well-reviewed or liked, it would drop in the 50’s, while a 60-ish decline is the norm. That “A” CinemaScore rating is working wonders, with word-of-mouth on this one making a $300 million domestic finish possible. 

Meanwhile, Blumhouse’s Imaginary exceeded expectations, making $10 million for the weekend. That’s not a bad finish, given the poor reviews, although it will likely sink like a stone next weekend. In fourth place is Angel Studios’ Cabrini, which had a much better weekend than expected, with a north of $7.5 million opening. While that’s a far cry from director Alejandro Monteverde’s last film, Sound of Freedom, Cabrini didn’t have the same mainstream hook that movie did. Given that this is a period piece about the first American citizen canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church, this is a pretty solid opening. It should play well over the upcoming Easter holiday. 

Bob Marley: One Love, which dominated the box office throughout February, made just over $4 million this weekend, with an $89 million domestic total. A $100 million finish looks like it might be in the cards for this well-liked biopic. On the other hand, the faith-based Ordinary Angels struggled to find an audience, only making $2 million for the weekend, with a $16 million domestic total. That’s low for a Christian movie with two solid stars, Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson. 

However, of all the movies on the list, the biggest cautionary tale continues to be Sony’s Marvel flick, Madame Web, which only made $1.125 million this weekend and only has a $42 million domestic total so far. There’s no way this one manages a finish of over $45 million. This movie is so bad that even its star, Dakota Johnson, says so.

Illumination’s Migration is on the lower end of the chart, which is wrapping up its run with a $1.1 million weekend for a $125 million domestic total, which is low for this animated studio. The 9th and 10th spots were taken by specialty releases. The Chinese comedy YOLO opened in 9th place with $840,000, while the MET Opera special run of La Forza del Destino made $768,000 in the 10th spot.

Next weekend seems like it’ll be a quiet one, with the only major releases being the Kristen Stewart pulp thriller Love Lies Bleeding and the Mark Wahlberg movie Arthur the King, which has gotten a pretty mild advertising campaign despite the fact it not only stars Wahlberg but also Simu Liu and a lovable dog. Go figure. It looks possible that Dune: Part Two could even retake the top spot if Kung Fu Panda 4 has a modest hold.

Did you go see anything this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

The post Weekend Box Office: Dune 2 has the best 2nd weekend hold since Barbenheimer appeared first on JoBlo.

Considering it’s Mario Day (Mar. 10, get it?), it’s no surprise that we got some news related to the series. And this is a Bowser-sized one, as Nintendo and Illumination will re-team for another movie based around the Mario franchise. Let’s-a go!

Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario, announced the project today, while Illumination head Chris Meledandri said the studio “is excited to continue its partnership with Nintendo, bringing its signature mix of joy and discovery to worldwide audiences of all ages, allowing them to connect with the beloved characters and stories from one of the world’s most popular franchises.”

Details on the plot to this Mario follow-up are non-existent to the public, but Shigeru Miyamoto did say they hoped to be “broadening Mario’s world further”, also adding the film will “have a bright and fun story.” Meldandri also assured that animation would be starting soon. As for others involved, this Mario follow-up will feature the same team that brought us last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie: the directing team of Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and screenwriter Matthew Fogel.

The Mario universe is vast so there is quite a bit to work with. We’ve already seen Mario take on Bowser and rescue Princess Peach, so it might be best to avoid that route – unless, of course, the princess is in another castle…There are also a number of other characters that were missing in the first movie that deserve to turn up in a sequel, like Wario, the Koopalings and Yoshi, who was teased at the end of the first movie.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie took in $1.36 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the year. It, too, would earn three Golden Globe nominations (including in the inaugural Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category) and an Annie Award nod for Jack Black. Unfortunately for fans, it missed out on any Academy Awards recognition, although we all know Black doing “Peaches” live would have been an iconic Oscars moment.

The movie is currently slated for an April 3rd, 2026 release.

Who or what do you want to see in a Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel? Let us know below!

The post Happy Mario Day! Super Mario Bros. Movie follow-up announced appeared first on JoBlo.

Considering it’s Mario Day (Mar. 10, get it?), it’s no surprise that we got some news related to the series. And this is a Bowser-sized one, as Nintendo and Illumination will re-team for another movie based around the Mario franchise. Let’s-a go!

Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario, announced the project today, while Illumination head Chris Meledandri said the studio “is excited to continue its partnership with Nintendo, bringing its signature mix of joy and discovery to worldwide audiences of all ages, allowing them to connect with the beloved characters and stories from one of the world’s most popular franchises.”

Details on the plot to this Mario follow-up are non-existent to the public, but Shigeru Miyamoto did say they hoped to be “broadening Mario’s world further”, also adding the film will “have a bright and fun story.” Meldandri also assured that animation would be starting soon. As for others involved, this Mario follow-up will feature the same team that brought us last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie: the directing team of Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and screenwriter Matthew Fogel.

The Mario universe is vast so there is quite a bit to work with. We’ve already seen Mario take on Bowser and rescue Princess Peach, so it might be best to avoid that route – unless, of course, the princess is in another castle…There are also a number of other characters that were missing in the first movie that deserve to turn up in a sequel, like Wario, the Koopalings and Yoshi, who was teased at the end of the first movie.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie took in $1.36 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the year. It, too, would earn three Golden Globe nominations (including in the inaugural Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category) and an Annie Award nod for Jack Black. Unfortunately for fans, it missed out on any Academy Awards recognition, although we all know Black doing “Peaches” live would have been an iconic Oscars moment.

The movie is currently slated for an April 3rd, 2026 release.

Who or what do you want to see in a Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel? Let us know below!

The post Happy Mario Day! Super Mario Bros. Movie follow-up announced appeared first on JoBlo.

If you’re like us here at Reel Action, you probably love martial arts movies. And if you love martial arts movies, chances are, you are a fan of Mark Dacascos. And if you’re a fan of Mark Dacascos, then you probably know the movie, Only the Strong. Only the Strong is the best Jean-Claude Van Damme movie that Van Damme never starred in. In fact, if you look at the director’s filmography, he had a successful collaboration streak with JCVD that led to Only the Strong. However, the movie actually fares better without him, because it features a star-making turn by the unanimously perceived underrated martial arts actor Mark Dacascos. Add in the teacher-savior plot and an introduction to a unique brand of martial art and you have an incredibly fun way to spend 90 minutes. We talk Only the Strong on this entry of Reel Action.

The teacher-savior movie is a sub-genre that’s not often explored now. Especially since it’s been kind of a punchline with its many tropes in a limited story range. The genre started out with titles like 1955’s Blackboard Jungle with Glenn Ford and Sidney Poitier. Since then, we have gotten films like Stand and Deliver, Lean On Me and Dangerous Minds. You know, the movies where there’s an inner city school, occupied by unruly, slacker students, some even violent. Then, a new teacher or principal comes in and brings out their potential by inspiring them to turn their lives around. It’s a genre tailor-made for drama. But it’s also been able to provide backdrops for different kinds of movies. Some have been able to twist it into action, like The Substitute or The Principal,and some have even made it into comedies like Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. 

Only the Strong would take the formula and use it as a device to introduce the Brazilian art of Capoeira. Capoeira is a fighting style set to music which helps the combatant pull off intricate, acrobatic fight moves while in a dance. The style was brought to the masses with the video game character Eddy Gordo in the Tekken series. Players would get to see the kinds of moves that the martial art exhibits. Since then, the style has been incorporated periodically in martial arts movies like Van Damme’s The Quest, Tony Jaa’s The Protector and Undistputed 3: Redemption starring Scott Adkins. Only the Strong would be the first and only major American project to shine a spotlight on it. And instead of using just a basic Karate Kid-typepremise — with the usual teacher-student dynamic — Only the Strong teaches Capoeira to the audience as if we were attending the class. 

The film starts with an American special forces soldier named Louis Stevens who comes to the end of his service in Brazil. Once discharged, Stevens goes back to visit his old high school in Miami where he finds out that things have changed for the worse. The school had become a haven for juvenile delinquents partaking in sex, drugs and violence. It’s gotten so bad that they even barred up the stairwell so people can’t be thrown over the railings. The faculty had very nearly given up, including an older teacher named Mr. Kerrigan, played by Geoffrey Lewis, who co-starred in the director’s previous outing, Double Impact. Kerrigan also happened to be the teacher who was responsible for Stevens turning his life around when he himself was an unruly teenager. 

As Kerrigan shows Stevens how destructive his alma mater has become, Stevens takes it upon himself to break up a fight involving a student and his gang leader brother. When he defends himself using his unique fighting style, everyone in the school yard watches on with great interest. Kerrigan realizes that he was actually able to keep everyone’s attention, which is something none of the teachers have been able to do for some time. So, he proposes a trial class where Stevens can teach the art of Capoeira to instill discipline and grace into the lawless kids. 

They use the worst collection of students for the experiment and it goes as well as you may think. Despite its effectiveness, all the students think the style looks too ridiculous to take seriously. One standout delinquent in the class is Orlando Oliveiras, played by Richard Coca. And Orlando’s cousin is Silverio Oliveiras, played by the delightfully sinister Paco Christian Prieto. Silverio is Orlando’s drug kingpin cousin who also happens to be the resident king Capoeira fighter of Miami. He also becomes the main villain of the movie when he feels Stevens is occupying too much of his cousin’s time when he should be working for him. Silverio and Stevens engage in a rivalry when Orlando starts coming around on the class, but his cousin doesn’t believe Stevens is a strong enough Capoeira maestro to teach his men.

The music plays as big a part in the movie as it does in Capoeira itself. From the very first scene, you are introduced to the rhythms and the chantings of “Paranue,” which the Brazilians use for the basis of the moves. And it’s this tune that becomes the theme song of the film as you hear it again and again. You even hear a cool 90s remix of it. And another remix in the end credits. One particular montage features a song that some may recognize from a Mazda campaign from the early 2000s. “Zoom zoom.”

Only the Strong was directed by Sheldon Lettich, who cut his teeth in the action genre writing movies like Rambo III and Bloodsport. Lettich would go on to work with Van Damme a number of times including directing Lionheart and Double Impact. Lettich also wrote Only the Strong and knew if he cast Dacascos in the lead role, he would go onto similar superstardom as Van Damme. Lettich even had the already physically fit Dacascos pump up some extra muscle for the role so he could live up to the Van Dammes and Stallones of the era. Unfortunately, superstardom wouldn’t strike white hot for Dacascos. According to Lettich, the scores for test screenings were incredibly high and he knew the studio would have a big hit. However, when Dacascos had to film for the movie adaptation of Double Dragon, he was stuck when production went over-schedule and was not able to do any promotion for Only the Strong. This would lead the studio, Fox to postpone press tours with the stars and director and eventually cancel it altogether. Without audiences getting the benefit of getting introduced to the film’s star, and having no marquee name to draw people in, the film would not become a success. 

Only the Strong would only make just over 3 million dollars. Which was only half the budget. Slowly but surely, the movie would find an audience through cable and VHS. Dacascos says that he’s surprised with how much the movie is brought up with him, so he’s definitely feeling that it’s become more of a success now than when it was released. Dacascos wouldn’t get to be the lead in many blockbusters, but he’s made a nice little career for himself as he would go on to co-star in the acclaimed French film, Brotherhood of the Wolf. He would square up against Jet Li in Cradle 2 the Grave, as well as go on to fight Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Many people might also know him from his television work as he starred in the TV series adaptation of The Crow, titled The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, where he filled the shoes of Brandon Lee as Eric Draven, as well as hosting Iron Chef: America. You can catch him in recent projects like Warrior and Knights of the Zodiac. Both are available on Netflix.

There isn’t any special blu-ray release of Only the Strong, so not a lot of behind-the-scenes information has been officially distributed. However, the YouTube channel, Viking Samurai, has a lot of great videos with the cast and director talking about the movie. So if you wanna learn more in-depth information about it, check them out! Plus, Sheldon Lettich has recently published a book about his career called From Vietnam to Van Damme. The movie is currently available to stream on Max. So, if you can, give this one a watch!

The post Only the Strong: It Should Have Made Mark Dacascos A Star! appeared first on JoBlo.

“Abba Zabba, you my only friend!” Imagine they made a Half Baked 2. That sounds like a slam dunk, right? After all, the original didn’t set the box office on fire, but it’s presumably made a mint on home video. Well, it looks like Universal finally pulled the trigger on a Half Baked 2, but of the original cast, the only person to return is Rachel True, who played the love interest, Mary Jane. Yes folks, it happened, and the sequel, Half Baked: Totally High, is going straight to Blu-ray, with an April 16th release date.

All this begs the question, why, twenty-five years later, make a Half Baked sequel without either Dave Chappelle, an infinitely bigger star now than he was in 1998, and Jim Breuer? Chappelle, I kind of get – the man is busy and would probably cost millions and millions to get, but Jim Breuer? Could nobody cut the SNL alum a check?

In what should come as no surprise, Half Baked 2 comes from Universal’s 1440 Entertainment, which is their low-budget DTV label. They recently made the two most unlikely sequel/prequels of all time, R.I.P.D 2: Rise of the Damned and Blade of the 47 Ronin.

Rachel True is joined in Half Baked 2 by Dexter Darden (from The Maze Runner), Moses Storm, Jeff Ross, David Koechner and Frankie Muniz, of all people. It’s directed by Michael Tiddes (filling in for the wildly underrated Tamra Davis) and centres around the Chapelle character’s son. Well, ok then – at least they haven’t replaced Chappelle, but why bother making a Half Baked 2 without Chappelle or Breuer?

Funny story – years ago at the Sundance Film Festival, I had a beer with Tamra Davis (a really cool lady) and mentioned that when I worked at a video store in my youth, we could never keep a copy of Half Baked in stock, because the stoners that rented it always forgot to return it. I have my doubts the sequel will have quite the same staying power.

Here’s the description courtesy of our friends at Blu-ray.com:

Ever since they first shared a joint as kids 10 years ago, JR, Miles, Cori and Bruce have been best buds. But their love of chronic kickstarts chaos after Bruce puffs on a fabled doobie containing 3 strains of weed that turns out to be fatal. Strapped for cash to send Bruce’s body across the country for burial, the three remaining stoners stumble across an amazing strain of marijuana and blaze a trail across L.A.’s underground pot market, destroying the business of a ruthless and now very unhappy drug lord. This amps up the hilarious adventure that gets lit with outrageous antics, surprising suspense, and nonstop laughs.

Do you have any interest in this DTV Half Baked 2? Let us know in the comments.

The post Half Baked 2: a cheap DTV sequel comes out next month appeared first on JoBlo.

It’s Oscar night! While some of us might may feel the Academy Awards have lost their lustre over the years a bit, it can’t be denied that over the last twenty years, so absolutely amazing movies have won for Best Picture. And, well, some pretty lame movies won too. If this poll, we want you to choose your favorite, and then, in the comments, let us know what you think the worst is. For me, the choice is pretty easy: Crash. While I enjoyed it back in 2004, I can’t say it’s aged all that well. The Artist also really didn’t deserve Best Picture. Am I right?

The post Poll: What’s Your Favorite Best Picture Oscar Winner From the Last 20 Years? appeared first on JoBlo.

With cameras set to roll on Quentin Tarantino’s The Movie Critic this year, it’s only a matter of time before we find out who will play the titular character. A handful of names have circled the role, like Paul Walter Hauser, but that one fell apart due to last year’s industry strikes. Now, the latest is Shane Gillis, the stand-up comedian who was sacked from Saturday Night Live before even making it to air.

Of course, nothing has been confirmed over who will play the lead in The Movie Critic at this point, and it could all go away just as quickly as Shane Gillis’ stint on SNL. As you might remember, Gillis was hired and fired within one week back in 2019, when it was discovered that he had used racist and homophobic slurs on his podcast the year prior. He would later host SNL just this February, with his fame as a comedian actually skyrocketing since the firing. On the firing, Gillis stated in part, “I’m a comedian who was funny enough to get SNL. That can’t be taken away. Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I’m honestly grateful for the opportunity. I was always a Mad TV guy anyway.” Well, Rick Dalton did once appear on the cover of MAD magazine…

But that’s not the only reason Gillis would be a controversial choice to lead The Movie Critic. He’s also not an actor. Gillis has a handful of onscreen credits and must have had some sort of presence and charisma to get a spot on SNL, but leading a major motion picture, especially The Movie Critic, just doesn’t seem like part of Gillis’s skill set. Either Tarantino really sees something in this guy that makes him think he could carry such an important film or this will all get debunked in due time. The lead character in The Movie Critic is said to be in his mid-30s (which Gillis is) and having been inspired by a guy who wrote reviews for a porno magazine.

How would you feel about Shane Gillis starring in The Movie Critic? Who do you actually want to lead QT’s 10th and final film? Let us know below!

The post Shane Gillis to star in Quentin Tarantino’s The Movie Critic? appeared first on JoBlo.

In the late eighties/ early nineties, shortly after they did Predator together, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John McTiernan and writer Shane Black were all set to team on a big-budget movie adaptation of the DC comic book Sgt. Rock. This is why, at the end of Predator, Black is seen reading a Sgt Rock comic during the cast roll. According to author Nick de Semlyan’s new book, “The Last Action Heroes” (buy it here), the project was heavily developed in ’88 and ’89, only to be demolished by an unlikely candidate – Monty Python’s John Cleese.

At the time, Cleese was riding high on the success of A Fish Called Wanda, and McTiernan thought he would be an ideal addition to the movie’s cast. The film was set to adapt an old Danny Kaye comedy called Imitation General. Cleese would play an English cook posing as a general during WW2 and being protected by Schwarzenegger’s Sgt Rock. Rock was reimagined as a German who fled his homeland after Nazis killed his family. Everyone involved was sure this would be an action-packed epic – except for Cleese. According to McTiernan in the book, during a meeting, Cleese was “very polite, but as far as he was concerned, we were just a couple thug American action-movie makers.” McTiernan admits that, at the time, Die Hard hadn’t hit theatres yet. “If he’d seen Die Hard, I think he probably would have signed up. But he judged us on our reputation.”

As McTiernan explains, everyone was so attached to the idea of Cleese co-starring with Schwarzenegger that when the actor passed, the project fell apart. “It would have been delightful – John Cleese would have had so much fun making fun of Arnold and vice versa. That was the whole essence of the movie.”

Ultimately, things worked out well for all involved, with Arnold making Total Recall instead, while McTiernan went on to make The Hunt for Red October. Even still, one wonders what Sgt Rock might have been like had it been made in ’89/90. It might have been another action movie classic.

Looking back at Cleese’s filmography, there’s a curious lack of projects following A Fish Called Wanda, with him mostly cameoing for his Python pals in movies like Erik the Viking and Splitting Heirs, starring his frenemy Eric Idle. It looks like Cleese was actually trying to change up his career a bit, with his most prominent role being a serious turn in the Kenneth Branagh film, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, before returning to comedy shortly after. Maybe Cleese needed a break, but if we would have to trade The Hunt for Red October and Total Recall for Sgt. Rock, maybe it not being made was the best thing.

The post Sgt Rock: Arnold Schwarzenegger and John McTiernan’s movie was sunk by John Cleese? appeared first on JoBlo.

THE STORY: A college kid (Brandon Lee) witnesses a gangland hit. Betrayed by witness protection, he’s recruited by a task force headed by a no-nonsense cop (Powers Boothe) as a pawn, but little do they know he’s more than able to handle himself against any of his foes.

THE PLAYERS: Starring: Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, Tzi Ma & Nick Mancuso. Directed by Dwight H. Little.

THE HISTORY: The early nineties were the heyday of the martial arts movie star. Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme were consistently churning out hits, so if they could become icons, why not a guy like Brandon Lee? He was movie star handsome, could move, was charismatic and could act. Oh yeah – he also happened to be the son of the greatest Kung-Fu movie star of all time, Bruce Lee.

“I wouldn’t want to refer to them as stepping stones. That seems to demean them. But I’m hoping they will get me to another place. I don’t think of this (`Rapid Fire’) as a stepping stone, but neither would I like to think it will be my bread and butter. I’d like to have the kind of career that would leave a wide body of work, like Mel Gibson, who does the `Mad Max’ and `Lethal Weapon’ films but can also step off and have credibility with `The Year of Living Dangerously’ or `Hamlet.’ ” – Brandon Lee Interview (1992)

After an aborted attempt at Hong Kong movie stardom (where Legacy of Rage oddly cast him as a gun-toting hero in the Chow Yun-Fat model), Lee ecked out a no-budget direct-to-video actioner called Laser Mission that helped get him noticed. A supporting part as Dolph Lundgren’s partner in the gonzo actioner Showdown in Little Tokyo (which we love here on JoBlo) was enough to propel him to leading man status with Rapid Fire.

To launch what they hoped would be a new star, 20th Century Fox gave Rapid Fire a decent budget and a strong supporting cast of tough guy actors, including Powers Boothe and Nick Mancuso. The reviews were inexplicably poor, but even those who hated it acknowledged Lee was a star-in-the-making, even though the $14 million box office take was meager (it was a huge hit on VHS). Lee, using it as a stepping-stone, went on to make The Crow, a movie which would have firmly established him as a star, when disaster hit and he was killed in an on-set shooting accident.

WHY IT’S GREAT: I was heartbroken when Brandon Lee died  (in an incident the director of this movie found inexplicable)– and at that point, I hadn’t even seen Rapid Fire. I was about eleven when it happened, and this one hadn’t quite made it to the Canadian version of HBO, The Movie Network, which is the way I usually got my action fix. Saturday nights at 9:30, right after Dream On was when TMN would program the hardcore action flicks, and I tuned in each and every week. I’d watch pretty much any actioner, from the latest from Seagal and Van Damme (Stallone and Schwarzenegger would merit a trip to the theater), to the occasional pleasant surprise like Thomas Ian Griffith’s Excessive Force and the Pierce Brosnan bomb-romp Live Wire, to the lower end of the spectrum – DTV movies with Lorenzo Lamas. More often than not, my dad would join me, and the week Rapid Fire finally premiered, I was psyched but also sad because I knew that if I liked it, I’d never see another movie like it with Lee in the lead.

“Well, Brandon was such a natural star. He had that quality. He had the acting, the physicality, his dad was Bruce Lee. He had the whole make up to become a huge star and he would have been, I think, become a huge star had he not gotten killed. It was extremely sad what happened.” – Dolph Lundgren – Den of Geek interview

Sure enough, Rapid Fire kicked my ass, and even my beyond cynical about these kinds of movies dad had to admit it was decent – mostly thanks to Lee, who was a hell of a good leading man. Rapid Fire has picked up a bit of a cult following over the years. Still, few really talk about it now, with most of the ink predictably going to The Crow (which I think is a masterpiece) or Showdown in Little Tokyo for the gonzo, unintentional (?) homo-erotic vibe (it’s kind of a blast).

Rapid Fire, though, has it all. Watch this and see what Brandon Lee as an action star might have been. A big film buff, Lee knew his craft well and had tons of creative control here. He loved HK action cinema and sprinkled in references to some of the classics, like a brief motorcycle scrap he took out of Jackie Chan’s Police Story. He wanted John Woo to direct this so badly he couldn’t help but throw in references to A Better Tomorrow, The Killer and Hard-Boiled. Lee and Woo together would have been epic, but the director, Dwight H. Little actually did a terrific job. Little has always been underrated, with his Steven Seagal movie, Marked for Death, also being top-notch (pick up his recent memoirs here).

It helps that the supporting cast is aces, with the late Powers Boothe getting one of his better roles as the grizzled cop trying to help Lee’s Jake Lo get out of trouble while also using him as a pawn. He makes for a very cool Dirty Harry-style cop. I also dug Nick Mancuso as the smooth-talking Mafioso baddie, with him throwing in some nifty “Actor’s Studio” ticks to evoke a sadistic streak that gives him extra menace.

BEST SCENE: There are a lot of good ones, with two really solid mano-a-mano bouts, one with the famous Al Leong (the skulleted henchman who showed up in seemingly every eighties action movie) and the battle royale with Tzi Ma’s main baddie. As good as those are, I really liked the way Lee would take on a roomful of foes, mixing in props like Jackie Chan, but also bringing out the firepower when given the opportunity (how a college kid got so good with guns is never explained – but whatever). The sting operation gone wrong is the big action highlight for me, but there are plenty of others.

SEE IT: Rapid Fire is available digitally but seems to be out of print on Blu-ray, with it pretty pricey on Amazon marketplace. Hopefully, a studio like Kino Lorber or Shout Factory will give it a special edition sometime soon.

PARTING SHOT: As far as I’m concerned, Rapid Fire is the great unsung action classic of the 1990’s. Lee would absolutely have become an iconic hero, and it’s an absolute tragedy that he never got his moment in the sun. Even still, he left behind a couple of great movies, and Rapid Fire is one that’s just waiting to be discovered.

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